彩色

• Pinyin: cǎi sè
• Hanzi breakdown: 彩 = 采 (pick, colourful) + 彡 (hair/decoration strokes), meaning colourful; 色 = originally depicted a person kneeling, extended to mean colour/appearance

Meaning

Colour; coloured; multicoloured. Refers to the presence of varied colours, as opposed to black and white.

Used as both a noun and an adjective to describe things that are colourful or in colour. Common in phrases like 彩色电视 (colour TV), 彩色照片 (colour photo), and 彩色打印 (colour printing). The opposite is 黑白 (black and white).

Examples

1. 孩子们喜欢用彩色铅笔画画。 Children like drawing with coloured pencils.
2. 这张彩色照片拍得非常漂亮。 This colour photo was taken very beautifully.
3. 她穿了一条彩色的裙子，很好看。 She wore a colourful skirt that looked lovely.

Usage Guide

Context: art, photography, everyday

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 请帮我打印一张彩色的。(Please print a colour copy for me.)
• 彩色的灯光让整个房间变得很温馨。(The colourful lights make the whole room feel warm and cosy.)

Don't Say

• 这个苹果很彩色 (Don't use 彩色 as a predicate adjective — say 这个苹果颜色很鲜艳 for vivid colours on a single object)

Origin & History

Compound of 彩 (colour, splendour) and 色 (colour, appearance), emphasising the presence of vivid colours.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal